Jewish Agricultural Colonies, adjacent towns and villages in Southern Ukraine Sources for the Jewish Agricultural Colonies, adjacent towns and villages, located at various times in Southern Ukraine, Bessarabia, Podolia and the Crimea, are relatively hard to find. This site gathers data about the individual settlements, the points of origin of these settlers and recounts their stories.

Introduction Colonies by name by location by colonists origin Archival records Documents online includes lists of names from various sources Articles Colonies foundation Tsarist Period Soviet Period Pogroms Holocaust Maps Photography People Places Family Histories and Memoirs Bibliography Contributors Links Back to the title page

only search Jewish Agricultural Colonies Researcher: Chaim Freedman chaimjan@zahav.net.il Website manager: Max Heffler News and updates March 2024 Updated Memoirs of William Comisarow updated July 2022 by Mel Comisarow. July 2022 Added Memoirs of William Comisarow updated July 2022 by Mel Comisarow. November 2020 Added Chaim Freedman, memoirs of his grandparents Zalman and Chanah Raizel Kaye (Komesaroff) to the Memoirs page Added 2020 photographs of Prolotarsky/Grafskoy Synagogue. October 2020 Added Komisaruk Zmood Grinblat Yovel interelationships to the Memoirs page Added Raseiniai the hometown of the Komisaruk family to the Articles page July 2020 Added Komisaruk family November 2019 Added "Khaklaim Yehudim B'Arvot Russia" to Links page January 2019 Added Footage: Jewish pogroms in Ukraine. (1919 - 1920) to Pogroms history and victims page September 2018 Added "Holocaust on the colonies" to Holocaust Index page Were there eignteen or seventeen colonies? Novozlatopol aerial photo German 1941 map August 2018 "THE FINAL CHAPTER": AGRO-JOINT WORKERS - VICTIMS OF THE GREAT TERROR IN THE USSR, 1937-1940 by Mikhail Mitsel December 2017 Lecture by Chaim Freedman on the Jewish Agricultural Colonies in the Ukraine presented November 30, 1917, to the Petah Tikvah branch of the Israel Genealogical Society, based on his lectures to the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy help in Jerusalem in 1984 and 1904. on Introduction page. Added Hbrew name, Yefeh Nahar, to Effingar colony page Linked Netchayevka chapter of Jewish Faner's Yizkor book to Netchayevka colony page. January 2017 Correct photo caption on Funeral of Herschel Leib Abugdoff page Correct year of death of Yisroel Rotenfeld on Rotenfeld Family page March 2016 Added coordinates and other info to Gelbinova page January 2014 Added Persecution of the Jews in Russia 1881  (The Times, London 1882.) - Description of the first wave of pogroms in Tsarist Russian in 1881, including list of places and manner of the pogroms. to the Pogroms page December 2013 To mark the 100th anniversary of the arrival in Australia on December 8th, 1913 of Tessie Freedman (Chaim's mother) with her parents Zalman and Chana-Reizel Komesaroff, the following material has been added to the site. Added to the Family Histories and Memoirs page: Rabbi Pinkhas Halevi Komisaruk 1830-1897. Biography of the rabbi of Grafskoy. William Comisarow's Memoirs details of life on the colonies. Tybel (Tessie) Freedman, nee Komesaroff/ Komisaruk Ancestry from Colonist Families "Our Fathers' Harvest" , Chaim Freedman's first history of the colonies, 1982 Article about the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the Komesaroff family in Australia, written by Yossi Aron and first published in the Australian Jewish News 20 December 2013 Grafskoy resurrected - recreating one's ancestral home A merge of maps and satellite photos to identify the structures in Grafskoy. Mariupol Pogrom 1905, by Leo Yarutsky. Mariupol pogrom 1905 list of victims. Jan-July 2010 Considerable material has been added to the site over the last year. With the growing accessibility of Russian, Belorussian and Ukrainian archives previously undiscovered material comes to light. Descendants of colonists, living in the former Soviet Union, are extracting material and developing their own sites. Two Russian books which contain extremely valuable information about the Ekaterinoslav colonies: L. Uleinikov [Binshtok], Jewish Agricultural Colonies in Ekaterinoslav Province in 1890, St Petersburg, 1891, I. Kankrin, Jewish Agricultural Colonies of Aleksandrov Uyezd Ekaterinoslav Province, Ekaterinoslav, 1893. The books are the result of a very detailed census of the colonies made by Uleinikov in 1890 and Kankrin in 1893. Each book has an introduction with a general overview and statistics. The authors are quite biased - Uleinikov is a supporter of Jewish agricultural colonies and Kankrin is a severe critic. The most valuable feature of these books is the detailed census of the colonists' households. The books have also a brief overview of each colony with summary of history and facilities. Kankrin's book has detailed house/street handwritten plans of the ten colonies he studied, including sketches of the types of buildings. Uleinikov has complete lists of heads of all families (surname, name and patronymic) in 17 colonies of Ekaterinoslav Province, Aleksandovsk and Mariupol Uyezds, with detailed record of family composition, military service, type of house, agricultural implements, livestock, land and its subdivision within family and notes about profession etc. Kankrin studied in a similar fashion 10 colonies in Aleksandrovsk Uyezd and has even more information about colonists' families. He was obsessed with the idea that colonists in reality remained artisans and not worked much as agriculturalists. Preface by the translator Translation of the Foreword to Uleynikov's book. "Life on the Jewish Agricultural colonies – success or failure" Opinions on the validity of the conclusions of Uleynikov and Kankrin. Example for the Komisaruk family of Grafskoy. Holocaust Interview of Ukrainian residents of former Jewish colony Novozlatopol by Father Patrick Desbois a horrifying account which demonstrates who actually carried out the massacre of nearly 800 Jews Photographs from the St. Petersburg Film archive and World ORT Photographic archive taken of many colonies in 1904 and 1922 showing public buildings such as schools, synagogues, municipal offices, and farmhouses. "Nayzlatopler Rayon" [Novozlatopol Region] an account of the Sovietized colonies after the Revolution and Civil War. Part 1. Part 2. "Destruction of Jewish Tradition under the Soviet Administration" An article assessing the affect of Sovietization on the destruction of Jewish cultural and religious life with particular reference to the role of the Yevsekzia. Revision lists from colonies Zelenopole and Mezhirech, 1850 and 1858. Original Russian lists: Year 1850, part 1 Year 1850, part 2 Year 1858, part 1 Year 1858, part 2 Memoirs of Grafskoy 1907-1921by the son of a rabbi of the colony include description of life on the colony and the reaction to the pogroms during the Russian Civil War which took place after the Revolution. Prenumeranten Lists [The list of subscribers] from two books published in 1911 which include many residents of the colonies. Part 1 Part 2 Excerpts from Jewish Agriculturalists 1807- 1887 (V. Nikitin) extracts Part 1 Part 2 Biography Original of the book in Google. Links – a new page with links to useful sites. Land Measurements Yakov Pasik's Russian site is updated from time to time. The site includes material in both English and Russian together with photographs and maps. Thanks go to those who extracted, translated, processed and contributed to the acquisition of this material: Bernshtam, Pavel Comisarow, Mel Farber-Sherman, Mitja Freedman, Chaim Giller, Lisa. Govor, Elena Heffler, Max Komissarouk, Joseph Pasik, Yakov Ronn, Michoel Volunteers are sought for further translations. 21 Dec 2009. Mezhirech colonist list (1890) 26 Jun 2009. Photos of Ekaterinoslav colony synagogues, schools, administrative offices and general scenes from St.Petersberg Central State Archive of cinema, photo and phono documents (1904). Maps of colonies 1865 from Yakov Pasik's site The Guide to Jewish Agricultural Colonies of South Ukraine 8 Jun 2009. Zatishye colony - donor list from Hamaggid Hebrew newspaper 1872 3 Jun 2009. Translation of names from Dobra colony 6 Mar 2009. List of Novozlatopol massacre Victims of the Holocaust in Russian Cyrillic and in English List of Jews of Vitebsk Governorate resettled in S. Novozlatopol in Russian Cyrillic and in English 21 Feb 2009. Prenumeranten list of 2000 names in colonies and towns of Yekaterinoslav and Kherson Guberniyas,  from 'Imrei Shmuel', Part three, 1912.. Donated by Michoel Ronn, New York 27 Sep 2008. Grafskoy revision list 1858. 2 Apr 2008. Mezherich revision list, 1858. Donated by Michoel Ronn, New York 8 Aug 2006. An article aboutcantonists onhttp://www.jewish-history.com web site. This article gives background for one of the reasons our ancestors fled Lithuania/Latvia to settle on the Ukrainian colonies and also later fled Europe for the USA/Canada/Australia/S.Africa /England etc. 8 Aug 2006. Yakov Pasik's created english pages on his excellent website: The Jewish national administrative units of South Ukraine (1931) Maps of Jewish Agricultural Colonies in Kherson and Ekaterinoslav Guberniyas 5 Apr 2006. Yakov Pasik's site was updated with 2 new pages: The Jewish settlements in Crimea (1922-1926) The Jewish settlements in Crimea up to 1941 History of Lvovo by Albert Kaganovitch was added to the Lvovo page. Jewish agricultural colonies site in russian, created by Yakov Pasik. 5 Oct 2005. Duma voters list from Melitopol uyezd contributed by Victor Kumok. See Documents online page. 30 Aug 2005. People who moved from Kovno Gubernia to Grafskoy (1850-1852). All pages scanned. 8 Aug 2005. Ukrainian pogroms page completely rewritten. 8 Aug 2005. Colonists who moved from Vitebsk Gubernia to Novozlatopol (1850-1852). All pages scanned. 6 July 2005. FamilyHistories and Memoirs: "The Progress Of My Migration". Jacob Leib Mendelson (formerly Komesarook), Melbourne, Australia, 1919 1 June 2005. Holocaust page completely updated. 4 May 2005. Colonists lists: People who moved from Kovno Gubernia to Grafskoy (1850-1852) People who moved from Vitebsk Gubernia to Novozlatopol (1850-1852). List 1 (selected families) List 2 (surnames list) 4 May 2005. On the Photography/ Places page - 2 pictures from Yad VaShem valley of communities. 4 May 2005. The Interlocking Melbourne Russians. Published in Roots-Key, Newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles, with thepermission of the editor Nancy Holden. 9 May 2005. Mass grave in Trudolyubovka. 1919. 5 May 2005.Report about trip to city of Ekaterinoslav and colonies of Guliaipole district in the period November 24 – December 3 1924. Obtained by Mel Comisarow, translated by Joseph Komissarouk. 5 May 2005. Holocaust victims, killed in Novozlatopol and region. 5 May 2005.Archival records page was updated. 5 May 2005. A link to Efingar colony page in russian was added to the kehilallinks Efingar page. Voters lists: Shultz andBeizitzer election for Ekaterinoslav Gub. colonies (1861-1869), including partially translation. Grafskoy colony census (1858) - original document and translated surnames list. Colonists letters to the governors Letters concerning the Romanovka Colony in 1843  Letter concerning the Nowo Berislav Colony in 1843 Letterconcerning the Nowo Poltavka Colony in 1843 Please send signature corrections for the 1843 lists to Pavel Bernshtam  Remember to check the Yad Vashem database. The Central database of the Shoah victims' names. There are many people who came from our colonies and towns. Search by surname and by town name. Odessa Archive Holdings about Jews Trip to Zaporozhye

visitors since 26 April 2005

Research contact: Chaim Freedman

Site Designed by Pavel Bernshtam and Maintained by Max Heffler
 Original site compiled by Nancy Holden

 

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